CONVERSION 


No.  SSS 


OP 


DR.  ^APADOSE, 

A  JEWISH  PHYSICIAN  OF  AMSTERDAM; 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  TREATISE  “JEHOVAH  JESUS,”  &c. 


Written  by  himself  at  the  request  of  Rev.  Prof.  Pettatel  and 
others,  Neuchatel,  Switzerland. 


ABRIDGED  PKOM  THE  FRENCH  OP  THE  SOCIETIES  OF  THE 
FRIENDS  OP  ISRAEL  AT  TOULOUSE  AND  NEUCHATEL. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE 

AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW-YORK. 


D,  Fanehawy  Printer. 


2 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


Dr>  Capadosc’s  Journey  with  his  Mother. 

So  much  agitation,  (he  says,)  joined  to  the  ardent  desire 
I  experienced  to  confess  my  Saviour  openly,  terminated  by 
shattering  a  constitution  that  had  never  been  remarkably 
vigorous.  My  uncle  having  advised  me  to  go  avray  for 
several  weeks  and  breathe  the  country  air,  I  readily  em¬ 
braced  his  proposition.  My  excellent  mother,  who  had 
always  loved  me  with  a  peculiar  affection,  was  determined 
to  accompany  me.  In  this  life  of  repose,  at  liberty  to  pur¬ 
sue  the  train  of  my  thoughts,  I  felt  myself  urged  to  com¬ 
municate  freely  to  my  mother.  One  day,  when  I  was 
walking  alone  with  her,  I  opened  the  conversation  on  re¬ 
ligion  ;  at  first,  however,  with  trembling  and  hesitation. 

"You  see,  mothei%”  said  1,  "that  I  am  much  occupied 
with  the  study  of  the  Bible  :  do  you  know  that  the  prophe¬ 
cies  may  have  been  accomplished,  and  the  Christians  have 
reason  on  their  side  V’ 

"  Whoever  acts  from  a  sense  of  duty  is  agreeable  to 
God,”  was  my  mother’s  reply  ;  ”  and  you,  my  son,”  con¬ 
tinued  she,  ”  take  care  that  you  are  not  carried  away  by 
your  enthusiasm  and  ardent  imagination.” 

She  then  changed  the  topic  of  conversation,  carefully 
avoiding  every  thing  that  might  bring  it  up  again.  I  thought 
she  had  not  comprehended  what  I  at  heart  wished  to  com¬ 
municate  ;  but  my  mother,  a  calm,  reflecting  woman,  re¬ 
membered  my  words  ;  and,  at  the  end  of  several  weeks,  on 
our  return  to  town,  this  poor  mother,  (Lord  !  forgive  her, 
for  she  knew  not  what  she  did,)  taking  my  brother  aside, 
disclosed  to  him  what  had  passed  between  us,  and  strongly 
exhorted  him  to  be  on  his  guard  against  seduction. 


Cbargcd  wiUi  cruelty  to  his  Mother. 

One  day,  under  the  paternal  roof,  (says  Dr.  C.)  my  father, 
whose  fiery  temper  had  often  burst  out  against  me,  took  ray 
arm  and  led  me  into  the  chamber  of  my  poor  mother,  who 
was  ill  from  chagrin.  I  see  her,  even  now,  seated  in  a  cor¬ 
ner,  and  absorbed  in  profound  sadness  ;  she  was  cast  down 
with  grief.  "  You  see  her,”  said  he  ;  ”  this  is  your  work  ; 
you  are  your  mother’s  murderer.”  You  may  conceive  ray 
feelings  in  this  situation  ;  never  had  I  experienced  a  like 
emotion,  and  I  must  avow,  that  what  persecution  could 
never  do,  the  terrible  sufferings  of  my  poor  mother  might 
have  at  last  attained.  I  felt  ray  faith  shaken,  and  that  the 
No.  3S8,  See  page  3  of  cover. 


No.  388. 

CONVERSION 


OF 

DR.  CAPADOSE, 

A  JEWISH  PHYSICIAN  OF  AMSTERDAM; 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  TREATISE  “  JEHOVAH  JESUS,"  &c. 


Written  by  himself  at  the  request  of  Rev.  Prof,  Pettavel  and 
others,  Neuchatel,  Switzerland. 


ABRIDGED  FROM  THE  FRENCH  OF  THE  SOCIETIES  OF  THE 
FRIENDS  OF  ISRAEL  AT  TOULOUSE  AND  NEUCHATEL. 


No,  my  dear  friends,  I  will  no  longer  decline  to  meet 
your  pressing  demands,  or  to  fulfil  the  engagement  under 
which  you  have  placed  me,  to  relate  to  you  how  it  pleased 
the  Grod  of  all  grace  to  call  me  to  the  knowledge  of  him¬ 
self,  and  bring  me  from  darkness  to  his  marvellous  light. 
My  soul  is  vividly,  is  deeply  convinced,  that  it  has  never 
of  itself  sought  the  Lord  ;  but  that  the  arm  of  his  compas¬ 
sion  was  extended  to  it  while  in  its  lost  condition.  It 
would  then  be  false  modesty  to  refuse  you  that  which, 
communicated  in  conversation,  appeared  somewhat  edify¬ 
ing  to  many  dear  friends,  who  saw  in  it  the  Saviour’s  un¬ 
speakable  love  for  so  wretched  a  sinner,  and  felt  them¬ 
selves  urged  to  glorify  his  name. 

By  birth  a  Portuguese  Jew,  I  was,  nevertheless,  far 
from  being  a  zealot  in  the  cause  of  the  religion  of  my  an¬ 
cestors.  My  education  had  been  moral  rather  than  reli¬ 
gious,  inspiring  me  withJiorror  of  vice,  and  love  for  what 
the  world  styles  virtue ;  but  the  goodness  of  God  alone 
preserved  me  from  open  impiety,  somewhat  later  in  life. 

At  an  early  age  I  was  ardently  engaged  in  the  pursuit 
of  literature  and  science :  though  living  in  society,  and 


4  CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE,  (2S 

sake  of  decorum,  nothing  affected  me  in  the  least;  on  the 
contrary,  those  heartless  ceremonies,  that  want  of  respect, 
those  shouts,  those  discordant  songs,  and  the  use  of  a 
tongue  unknown  to  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  assem- 
bly — all  this  spiritless  and  lifeless  display  so  disgusted  me 
that  I  no  longer  attended  regularly  ;  for  I  had  ever  abhor¬ 
red  hypocrisy.  ; 

Nevertheless,  to  give  us  a  change,  and  as  if  he  had 
caught  a  glimpse  of  what  was  about  to  happen  some  years 
later,  the  tempter  put  it  into  the  heart  of  my  friend,  and 
mine,  to  alter  our  mode  of  life.  Both  of  us  enemies  to 
half  measures,  and  not  being  able  to  suit  ourselves  with 
this  modern  Judaism,  which  had  invented  the  art  of  taking 
up,  or  laying  aside,  according  to  convenience,  the  differ¬ 
ent  injunctions  of  the  Mosaic  law,  we  firmly  resolved  to 
become  true  Israelites,  rigid  observers  of  every  article  of 
the  law,  intimidated  by  no  authority,  and  compelling 
even  Christians  to  respect  the  Jewish  nation. 

National  pride,  that  sentiment  which  in  boyhood  led 
me  to  say  to  my  good  mother,  on  seeing  her  afflicted,  "  Be 
consoled,  mother ;  when  I  am  grown  up,  I  will  carry  you 
to  Jerusalem increased  amazingly  at  this  epoch,  and 
took  the  place  of  every  other  emotion. 

It  was  in  this  disposition  of  heart,  and  with  these  reso¬ 
lutions,  that  we  undertook  the  assiduous  reading  of  the 
Bible.  But,  O  disgrace !  O  wretchedness  of  the  uncon¬ 
verted  soul  !  we  could  go  no  further  than  Genesis  !  In¬ 
cessant  irony,  a  spirit  of  mockery,  and  often  even  (Lord, 
enter  not  into  judgment  with  us !)  blasphemy  was  upon 
our  lips  while  engaged  in  prayer.  And  this  was  carried 
to  such  a  height  that  I  ended  by  saying  to  my  friend,  that 
it  were  better  to  renounce  our  reading  than  to  conduct  it 
in  this  manner. 

Our  plans  for  eminence  in  the  Jewish  religion  vanished 
like  smoke.  The  termination  of  my  professional  studies 
was  at  hand  :  this  was  in  ISIS.  I  took  my  degree  in  me- 


29)  CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE.  5 

dicine,  and  left  the  academy  where  my  time  had  not  been 
altogether  wasted.  I  returned  to  my  native  city,  Amster¬ 
dam,  full  of  high  expectations  for  the  future  :  a  fair  and 
honorable  career  seemed  to  open  before  me. 

I  had  an  uncle,  one  of  the  first  physicians  of  Holland,  a 
literary  man,  and  justly  esteemed  by  the  best  families.  He 
possessed  public  confidence,  not  only  as  a  physician,  but 
also  on  account  of  his  social  relations.  Without  children, 
he  took  me  home  to  be  his  son  and  successor.  I  was  soon 
introduced  to  a  rich  circle  of  families ;  very  worthy  and 
honorable,  doubtless,  but  with  whom  Christianity  was  no¬ 
thing  more  than  an  exterior  profession,  attended  by  a  life 
altogether  worldly. 

Although  for  some  years  I  had  been  oftener  in  the  so¬ 
ciety  of  Christians  than  in  that  of  my  fellow-religionists,  I 
am  sure  that  none  ever  spoke  to  me  of  Christianity.  My 
friends  and  young  colleagues,  with  whom  I  often  passed 
several  evenings  of  the  week,  did  not  appear  to  have  the 
smallest  idea  of  religion.  I  remember  that  once,  the  con¬ 
versation  falling  on  Christianity,  they  made  a  display  of 
their  infidelity,  and  spoke  with  very  little  respect  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  expressed  my  astonishment;  add¬ 
ing,  that  I,  a  Jew,  did  not  believe  in  Jesus  Christ;  but 
that,  in  my  opinion,  every  Christian  who,  disbelieving  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  God,  still  continued  to  offer  prayer  and 
homage  to  him,  was  an  idolater. 

One  of  these  young  physicians  was  happily  converted 
some  years  later :  he  recalled  to  my  mind  the  conversation 
of  that  evening,  and  assured  me  how  confused  he  had 
been,  that  so  severe  and  yet  so  merited  an  apostrophe 
should  be  uttered  by  the  mouth  of  a  Jew.  He  is  at  this 
time  one  of  my  dear  brethren  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  walks 
with  much  faith  and  fidelity.  How  admirable  are  thy 
ways,  O  Lord  !  and  thy  judgments,  how  righteous  ! 

Nevertheless,  in  the  midst  of  daily  increasing  occupa¬ 
tions,  though  surrounded  by  all  the  comforts  of  life,  I  was 


6 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


(30 


far  from  being  inwardly  happy.  The  desire  of  knowledge, 
the  thirst  after  scientific  truths  augmented  within  me,  as 
worldly  pleasures  daily  grew  more  sickening.  But  all 
my  researches,  all  my  studies,  all  my  endeavors  to  satisfy 
the  internal  want  that  tormented  me,  continued  fruitless, 
and  left  a  frightful  void  in  my  soul. 

During  long  sleepless  nights,  occasioned  by  an  oppres¬ 
sion  of  the  chest,  of  which  I  had  been  a  frequent  sufferer 
in  my  youth,  I  asked  myself,  in  the  midst  of  sad  reflec¬ 
tions,  why  I  was  on  the  earth  ?  "  What  is  man  V’  said  I 
to  myself.  "  Should  I  not  be  a  thousand  times  happier  if 
’  I  were  only  an  inferior  creature,  an  inhabitant  of  the  air, 
a  worm  of  the  earth  !  It  is  true  I  should  move  in  a  nar¬ 
rower  sphere  ;  but  then  I  should  not  undergo  what  I  am 
now  suffering  in  mind  and  body.”  Many  a  time,  at  the 
close  of  my  evening  prayer,  which  I  uttered  aloud,  my^ 
heart  added,  "  would  that  this  were  the  last  day  of  my 
life !” 

I  have  preserved  the  correspondence  that  I  held  with 
two  of  my  friends  :  the  contents  of  their  letters  vividly  re¬ 
calls  to  mind  my  sufferings  at  that  time.  One  of  these 
letters  commences  with  these  words ;  "  I  cannot  express  to 
you,  dear  friend,  the  shock  your  letter  has  given  me.  Your 
melancholy  seems  to  assume  the  character  of  despair ;  and 
what  must  be  the  consequence  with  a  constitution  so  feeble 
and  a  heart  so  sensitive  as  yours  1  No,  your  body  cannot 
hold  out,  dear  friend ;  I  fear  that  you  will  soon  succumb,” 
&c.  Then  follows  some  advice,  which,  though  dictated  by 
the  kindest  friendship,  was  yet  wanting  in  what  consti¬ 
tutes  the  spirit  of  all  true  consolation. 

My  mode  of  life  dissatisfied  me.  Eager  in  quest  of 
truth  ;  seeking  every  where  a  certain  principle,  there  was 
not  a  day  of  my  life  passed  without,  alas  !  the  deplorable 
necessity  of  acknowledging  the  uncertainty  of  the  science 
to  which  I  was  devoted.  I  enjoyed,  indeed,  the  confidence 
of  my  patients ;  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  was  what  is 


31) 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


7 


called  a  fortunate  physician  ;  yet  I  passed  my  days  in  pain¬ 
ful  constraint. 

My  uncle,  the  worthy  old  gentleman  in  whose  house  I 
was  residing,  fatigued  by  the  numerous  occupations  of  the 
day,  was  not  pleased  to  see  me  consecrating  the  evening 
hours  to  study.  Impatient  to  give  myself  up  to  some  oc¬ 
cupation  more  suited  to  my  taste,  I  w'^as  free  only  at  night, 
and  thus  contracted  the  habit  of  sitting  up  till  a  very  late 
hour.  Nevertheless,  all  this  midnight  labor  left  still  exist¬ 
ing  in  my  heart  the  frightful  void  which  so  embittered 
life.  It  was  not  that  I  felt  any  disquietude  for  my  sins ; 
assuredly  not,  for  in  that  case  I  should  have  shuddered  to 
demand  death  :  I  was  under  the  weight  and  curse  of  sin, 
without  suspecting  it,  or  even  seeking  a  remedy. 

One  day,  going  to  see  my  intimate  friend,  who  was  just 
married,  I  found  that  he  had  received  a  letter  from 
our  celebrated  professor,  with  whom  he  kept  up  a  literary 
correspondence.  "  Will  you  listen  to  his  letter,”  said  he, 
”  and  hear  with  what  fine  verses  he  addresses  me  1”  Will¬ 
ingly,  I  replied.  The  lines,  in  which  he  described  with 
energy  and  fervor  the  glorious  hopes  of  Israel,  were  in 
truth  sublime :  they  ended  with  this  apostrophe : — ”  If 
thou,  dear  friend,  the  Christian’s  name  will  take,  contented 
I’ll  my  spirit  yield.  My  life  were  a  small  boon  to  give 
for  thy  soul’s  sake  !” 

At  these  words,  pronounced  in  a  low  tone,  I  felt  my  in¬ 
dignation  aroused  ;  it  appeared  to  me  that  my  friend  had 
not  been  sufficiently  shocked  at  them.  ”  Take  care,”  said 
I,  "  there  is  a  plan  formed  to  seduce  us  and  then  hastily 
departed. 

The  whole  day  my  mind  remained  absorbed  and  lost 
in  meditation .  I  could  not  conceive  how  a  man  of  such 
profound  science  could  believe  in  the  Christian  religion ; 
nor  how  one,  who,  for  so  many  years,  had  kept  up  the  closest 
intimacy  with  me,  without  ever  speaking  to  us  of  Christi¬ 
anity  ;  who  even  appeared  to  have  so  much  respect  for 


8 


CONVERSfON  OP  DR.  CAPADOSE.  . 


(32 


the  Old  Testament,  should  suddenly  resolve  to  speak  to 
my  friend  in  this  tone.  My  heart,  naturally  inclined  to 
mistrust,  saw  here  only  an  adroit  attempt  to  seduce  us 
from  our  religion,  and  I  suffered  from  the  thought  that 
my  friend  did  not  partake  thoroughly  of  my  indignation. 

From  that  day  J  took  up  the  word  of  God  with  the  inten¬ 
tion  (f  examining  it.  My  friend  did  the  same ;  and  after¬ 
wards,  whenever  we  walked  out  together,  our  conversation 
turned  on  passages  of  Scripture  that  especially  fixed  our 
attention.  Having  begun  with  the  Gospel  according  to 
Matthew,  I  was  struck,  in  the  commencement,  on  seeing 
how  this  evangelist,  very  far  from  reversing  the  authority 
of  the  Old  Testament,  rested  upon  it,  on  the  contrary,  as 
his  basis,  and  proposed  nothing  more  than  to  prove  the 
unity  of  the  two  Testaments  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
prophecies. 

In  this  way  many  months  passed,  when,  more  and  more 
encouraged  to  pursue  researches  that  daily  afforded  us 
greater  interest,  we  resolved  to  effect  what  we  had  at¬ 
tempted  some  years  earlier,  though  with  a  very  different 
disposition  of  heart :  it  was  to  meet  as  often  as  possible,  to 
read  together  and  communicate  our  doubts  and  reflections 
to  each  other.  To  this  effect  we  retired  to  a  corner  of  the 
paternal  mansion  ;  and  it  is  not  without  vivid  emotion,  nor 
without  adoring  the  goodness  and  wisdom  of  God,  that  I 
recall  the  remembrance  of  those  happy  moments,  those 
hours  so  agreeable  and  so  blessed,  that  we  passed  toge¬ 
ther,  as  it  were  in  the  presence  of  the  God  of  our  fathers. 

Our  zeal  and  interest  increased  as  we  advanced.  My 
mind,  wearied  with  fruitless  researches,  beheld  a  vast  and 
untried  field  open  before  it,  into  which  it  entered  with  an 
ardor  and  irresistible  attraction  that  I  recognized  later  as 
the  expression  of  my  heavenly  Father’s  love,  by  which  He 
draws  to  his  dearly  beloved  Son  the  souls  he  would  save. 
This  meditation  on  the  word  of  God  became  at  length  the 
most  urgent  want  of  my  heart.  It  was  not  enough  that  I 


53) 


CONVERSION  OP  OR.  CAPADOSE. 


9 


knew  the  truth,  I  felt  the  need  of  possessing  it  and  living 
on  its  substance. 

Although  I  could  not  then  discern  clearly  what  was 
passing  within  me,  nevertheless  I  remember  to  have  had 
moments  of  rapture  at^he  thought  that  I  could  perceive 
in  my  path  visible  marks  of  divine  assistance  and  protec¬ 
tion.  One  day,  when  my  friend  and  I  were  together,  oc¬ 
cupied  with  our  accustomed  researches,  my  brother  sur¬ 
prised  us  ;  he  saw  on  the  table,  alongside  of  the  open  Bible, 
a  Spanish  author,  the  only  work  of  human  origin  we  pe¬ 
rused  with  the  word  of  God.  He  opened  the  book  and 
read  the  title.  It  was  '' Defense  de  la  foi  chretienne;” 
(''  a  defence  of  the  Christian  faith,”)  by  Professor  Hey- 
deck.  He  read  only  these  words  :  ''  Defense  de  la  foi,” — 
(”  defence  of  the  faith.”)  ''  What  are  you  engaged  in  every 
day  together?”  asked  he,  replacing  the  book ;  ”  do  you  de¬ 
sire  to  become  Rabbis  ?”  Then  changing  the  subject,  he 
left  us.  Here  we  saw  the  protecting  hand  of  God  ;  for  if 
my  brother  had  read  the  whole  title,  we  should  have  been 
discovered  ;  at  least,  the  suspicion  of  our  families  would 
have  rested  on  us. 

On  another  occasion  I  was  in  my  uncle’s  library,  and 
ever  eager  to  meet  with  something  relating  to  that  which 
occupied  me  incessantly,  I  ran  my  eye  impatiently  over 
a  multitude  of  books,  to  find  one  that  would  tell  me  some¬ 
thing  in  regard  to  Christianity.  At  last  I  discovered  a  large 
folio,  entitled, ''  The  Works  of  Justin  Martyr.”  Although 
this  writer  was  at  that  time  entirely  unknown  to  me,  the 
title  of  Martyr  excited  a  hope  that  I  should  find  in  it  some¬ 
thing  relating  to  Christianity.  I  opened  it,  and  the  first 
paragraph  on  which  ray  eye  rested  was  the  ”  Dialogue  with 
Trypho  the  Jew’'  I  lead  it  hastily,  and  found  there  a 
succinct  exposition  of  the  prophecies  relating  to  the  Mes¬ 
siah,  which  was  very  useful  to  me.  Here  was  very  evi¬ 
dently  another  interposition  of  Providence,  and  my  heart 
was  deeply  touched  with  it. 


10 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


(34 


One  night  I  was  reading  the  prophet  Isaiah  :  when  I 
came  to  the  fifty-third  chapter,  the  perusal  of  it  made  so 
vivid  an  impression  upon  me,  and  showed  me  so  clearly, 
and,  as  it  were,  feature  by  feature,  what  I  had  read  in  the 
Gospel  of  the  sufferings  of  Christy  that  I  actually  thought 
some  other  Bible  had  been  substituted  in  the  place  of  my 
own  :  1  could  not  be  persuaded  that  this  fifty-third  chap¬ 
ter,  which  may  be  justly  styled  a  Gospel  in  brief,  formed 
a  part  of  the  Old  Testament,  On  reading  this,  it  seemed 
impossible  for  a  Jew  to  doubt  that  Christ  was  the  promised 
Messiah.  » 

Whence  came  so  strong  an  impression  ?  I  had  often 
read  this  same  chapter,  but  this  time  I  read  it  with  the 
light  of  God’s  Spirit,  From  that  hour  I  fully  recognized 
in  Christ  the  true  Messiah,  and  our  meditations  on  the 
word  of  God  took  a  new  turn.  This  was,  as  it  were,  the 
beginning,  the  aurora  of  a  glorious  day  to  our  souls  :  the 
light  continually  spread 'tnore  of  its  vivifying  rays,  enlight¬ 
ened  our  minds,  warmed  our  hearts,  and  afforded  me  even 
then  indescribable  consolation,  I  began  to  solve  the  where¬ 
fore  of  many  of  the  enigmas  of  life,  that  had  occupied  my 
mind,  rather  to  weary  and  sadden,  than  to  tranquillize  and 
instruct  me.  Every  thing  around  me  appeared  to  possess 
new  life  ;  the  end  and  interest  of  my  existence  were  en¬ 
tirely  changed.  Happy  days,  blessed  by  a  sense  of  the 
iSIaster’s  presence  !  I  shall  never  forget  them  !  It  seldom 
happens,  when  I  review  the  journey  of  the  two  disciples 
to  Emmaus,  that  the  recollections  of  those  days  when  my 
friend  and  I  met  and  walked  together,  do  not  come  up 
afresh  into  my  memory.  Like  them  we  can  say,  "  Did 
not  our  heart  burn  within  us  while  he  talked  to  us  by  the 
way,  and  while  he  opened  to  us  the  Scriptures  V’ 

I  have  remarked  above,  that,  by  the  guidance  of  God, 
we  had  abstained  from  communicating  to  any  person  what 
was  passing  in  our  hearts ;  and  that,  limiting  ourselves  to 
reading  and  comparing  the  word  of  God,  we  neglected 
every  other  book,  excepting  the  work  of  Heydeck,  which 


35) 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


II 


vre  consulted  regularly.  This  author  had  been  a  rabbi  in 
Germany ;  but  having  embraced  Catholicism,  he  was  elect¬ 
ed  professor  of  the  oriental  languages  at  Madrid,  where  I 
believe  he  still  resides.  The  work  we  had  before  us,  writ¬ 
ten  in  the  form  of  letters,  possessed  much  of  the  spirit  and 
knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and  contained  a  defence  of 
Christianity  against  rationalism.  The  perusal  of  this  was 
doubly  useful  to  us,  since  we  had  occasion  to  remark  how 
powerful  the  logic  and  how  forcible  the  proofs  were,  when 
contending  against  the  opinions  of  a  Voltaire  and  a  Rous¬ 
seau  ;  and  how  weak  they  were  when  defending  Catho¬ 
licism  against  the  principles  of  the  Reformation. 

Whenever  I  had  a  leisure  moment  in  the  morning  I 
always  absented  myself  to  read  the  word  of  God  ;  for  I 
did  not  dare  to  do  so  in  my  uncle’s  presence.  One  day 
I  had  been  more  particularly  engaged  with  this  passage 
of  the  eighth  chapter  of  Isaiah  :  "  Behold  a  virgin  shall 
conceive  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name  Imma¬ 
nuel.”  I  descended  from  the  library,  and  found  a  Jewish 
physician,  a  friend  of  my  uncle,  waiting  in  the  anti-cham¬ 
ber  :  he  was  turning  over  the  leaves  of  a  new  edition  of 
the  Bible.  "  Here,”  said  he,  ”  is  a  fatal  passage,  that  we 
can  hardly  wrest  from  the  Christians.”  It  was  the  very 
passage  of  Isaiah  on  which  I  had  been  meditating.  My 
mind  was  vividly  touched,  and  I  recognized  again  the  hand 
of  God. 

”  Ah !  why,”  replied  I,  ''  should  we  not  acknowledge 
the  truth  V’ 

In  the  meanwhile  my  uncle  entered.  It  was  the  dinner 
hour.  "What  question  are  you  debating?”  asked  he. 
The  physician  informed  him ;  and  knowing  how  versed 
my  uncle  was  in  the  rabbinical  writings,  he  inquired  what 
our  rabbins  said  of  this  passage.  "  Alas  !  a  heap  of  non¬ 
sense,”  replied  my  uncle,  rising  up.  We  entered  an  ad¬ 
joining  room  where  dinner  was  served.  My  heart  beat 
strong,  and  I  inwardly  blessed  the  Lord  for  permitting  me 
to  hear  even  these  words,  much  as  they  indicated  his  want 


12 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


(36 


of  reverence  for  the  Divine  oracles,  from  the  mouth  of  a 
man  whose  rabbinical  science  gave  him  authority  among 
the  Jews. 

All  these  circumstances,  guided  by  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  God,  concurred  to  convince  me  more  and 
more  that  t/ie  truth  xoas  in  Christianity  alone.  But  what,  at 
the  outset,  was  only  the  desire  of  my  understanding,  had 
become  that  of  my  heart.  Knowledge  no  longer  satisfied 
me ;  I  felt  the  need  of  love.  Then  it  was  that  the  rays  of 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  which  rises  upon  us  gradually, 
conveyed  to  me,  with  the  light  that  illumined  me,  that 
vivifying  and  celestial  warmth  which  gives  us  the  life  of 
God.  I  acknowledged  that  it  was  through  love  the  Saviour 
came  to  seek  me  :  I  now  began  to  feel  the  weight  of  my 
sins ;  or,  to  use  a  better  expression,  my  total  misery.  But 
this  sentiment  was  absorbed  in  that  of  divine  love.  I  had 
found  Christ  my  life,  the  central  point  of  all  my  affections 
and  all  my  thoughts,  the  only  object  capable  of  filling  the 
immense  void  in  my  heart ;  the  key  of  every  mystery ;  the 
principle  of  all  true  philosophy,  of  every  truth — ''  the 
Truth  ”  itself. 

By  degrees,  as  the  Spirit  of  God  confirmed  my  faith,  I 
felt  more  unhappy  in  the  position  in  which  I  found  myself, 
losing  in  ray  uncle’s  society  so  many  precious  hours  and 
evenings  that  I  could  have  desired  to  employ  in  further 
researches  into  the  only  subject  that  interested  me  on  earth. 

Every  day  I  felt  more  and  more  deeply  the  necessity  of 
coming  to  an  open  declaration  of  my  sentiments  ;  but  my 
uncle,  that  uncle  who  had  loaded  me  with  kindness,  who 
cherished  me  as  a  son,  who  saw  in  me  the  support  of  his 
old  age — how  could  I  resolve  to  avow  to  him  what,  con¬ 
sidering  his  age  and  choleric  temperament,  could  not  fail 
to  make  an  impression  and  occasion  a  shock,  the  conse¬ 
quences  of  which  were  incalculable  ?  I  can  attest  to  the 
glory  of  God,  that  the  certainty  there  was,  in  case  I  made 
the  avowal,  of  losing  a  considerable  inheritance  that  await¬ 
ed  me,  a  certainty  which  the  event  has  confirmed,  formed 


37)  CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE.  13 

I 

no  part  of  the  grounds  of  my  hesitation.  All  my  fears 
were,  lest  I  should  compromise  a  life  so  dear  to  me' ;  and 
the  idea  that,  by  a  word,  I  might  give  a  fatal  blow  to  this 
worthy  old  gentleman,  deprived  me  of  the  strength  and 
courage  requisite  to  unfold  my  sentiments.  Assuredly, 
with  more  faith  I  should  have  overcome  every  obstacle  ; 
but  in  the  state  in  which  I  then  was,  I  could  only  sigh  and 
^roan  in  secret.  During:  these  seasons  of  inward  struggle 
and  conflict,  my  sighs  rose  continually  to  the  God  who  had 
called  me ;  I  conjured  him  to  come  to  my  aid  and  to 
open  the  way  before  me. 

Acknowledge  how  attentive  the  God  of  compassion  was 
to  my  cry,  and  how  he  listened  to  the  voice  of  my  suppli¬ 
cation.  My  uncle  was  in  the  habit  of  reading  the  public 
journals  aloud  after  dinner.  One  day,  when  I  was  seated 
at  my  customary  place  opposite  to  him,  in  a  state  of  indes¬ 
cribable  depression,  I  heard  him  reading  a  notice  fi'om  a 
Hamburg  journal,  which  ran  thus  :  "  We  have  just  been 
witnesses  of  an  interesting  fact :  a  rabbi,  after  having  pub¬ 
licly  announced  in  the  synagogue,  that  an  attentive  exa¬ 
mination  of  the  prophecies  had  given  him  a  clear  convic¬ 
tion  that  the  true  Messiah  had  come,  has  publicly  confess¬ 
ed  the  Christian  faith  in  our  city,  and  been  received  as  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.”  Whereupon  my  uncle 
added  these  words,  which  my  position  rendered  so  remark¬ 
able  :  "  You  know  my  way  of  thinking  :  if  this  man  has 
acted  thus  from  any  interested  motive  whatever,  he  de¬ 
serves  contempt;  if  it  is  through  conviction,  he  has  a 
claim  to  respect.” 

Christians  !  who  happily  compassionate  the  lively  emo¬ 
tions  of  the  heart  of  a  fellow-being,  I  will  not  attempt 
to  describe  to  you  all  that  passed  in  mine  at  this  solemn 
moment !  In  a  transport  of  joy,  I  replied,  ”  Yes,  uncle, 
God  has  given  you  these  sentiments  :  know  that  he  whom 
you  love  with  paternal  tenderness,  and  whom  you  call  by 
the  name  of  son,  is  in  the  same  position  as  this  rabbi !” 

I  pronounced  these  words  with  such  a  tone  of  voice, 


14 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


(38 


and  wijth  so  much  agitation,  that  my  poor  uncle,  speech¬ 
less  and  alarmed,  thought  me  deranged ;  and  going  out 
for  a  moment,  as  if  to  allow  me  time  to  return  to  myself, 
he  re-entered  and  spoke  of  other  matters.  But  my  mind 
was  too  much  absorbed  and  excited  to  listen  to  what  he 
said  :  I  was  occupied  with  the  God  of  my  deliverance  ; 
for,  on  this  occasion,  I  had  felt  him  to  be  near.  It  was 
the  presence  of  the  Adonai  (God)  of  my  fathers  that  sus¬ 
tained  me,  and  who  from  that  day  afforded  my  soul  a  con¬ 
solation  it  had  never  experienced,  a  joy  and  energy  it  had 
never  known. 

Nevertheless,  I  saw  clearly  that  my  uncle,  although 
troubled  by  this  scene,  had  not  attributed  to  my  words 
the  importance  they  merited.  I  resolved,  then,  in  God’s 
strength,  to  reiterate  my  declaration  on  the  morrow.  We 
were  alone  at  the  table,  according  to  custom ;  my  uncle 
appeared  somewhat  pre-occupied  ;  he  was,  notwithstand¬ 
ing,  on  very  good  terms  with  me.  After  dinner  I  began, 
but  this  time  with  calmness  and  decision,  by  saying,  I  re¬ 
marked,  with  regret,  that  my  avowal  of  the  preceding 
evening  had  not  been  clearly  understood,  which  laid  me 
under  the  obligation  to  repeat  it,  as  if  in  God’s  presence, 
with  the  hope  that  he  himself  would  one  day  acknowledge 
the  truth. 

There  was  no  longer  any  possibility  of  illusion,  and  a 
most  trying  scene  followed.  He  beat  his  breast — cursed 
his  existence,  and  cried  out,  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul, 
that  I  was  bringing  down  his  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave.  These  reproaches  pierced  my  heart ;  but  the  Lord 
strengthened,  consoled,  and  gave  me  grace  to  show  this 
dear,  venerable  old  gentleman,  marks  of  love  and  tender¬ 
ness,  which  calmed  him  a  little.  The  next  day  he  communi¬ 
cated  all  to  my  parents,  and  it  appeared  that  there  was  an 
understanding  between  them  to  treat  me  with  tenderness. 
Who  could  tell,  but  that,  by  carefully  avoiding  all  conver¬ 
sation  upon  this  topic,  these  ideas  might  pass  away  ? 
Nevertheless,  ray  family  were  not  slow  to  perceive  that 


39) 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


15 


this  was  impossible ;  I  began  even  to  embolden  myself, 
sometimes  preaching  the. Gospel  to  them;  and  whenever 
occasion  offered,  I  no  longer  dissembled  my  sentiments. 

My  intimate  friend,  who  had  lost  his  father  some  months 
previous,  enjoying  more  liberty,  was  at  this  time  a  great 
source  of  consolation  to  me.  At  last,  my  uncle  seeing 
that  mildness  did  not  succeed  in  effacing  my  religious  con¬ 
victions,  and  fearing  still  more  the  open  manifestation  of 
my  faith,  had  recourse  to  other  means,  which  led,  how¬ 
ever,  to  results  opposite  to  his  expectation.  There  was 
not  a  sarcasm,  humiliation,  contempt,  or  severity  even, 
that  I  had  not  to  endure  from  him. 

I  do  not  complain  of  these  trials  ;  on  the  contrary,  I 
ought  to  consider  this  treatment,  severe  and  painful  to  the 
flesh,  in  the  light  of  real  blessings  from  God,  since  it  con¬ 
firmed  my  faith,  and  was  to  me  a  new  testimony  of  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel,  the  open  and  full  confession  of  which 
has  ever  been  attended  with  every  kind  of  persecution. 

My  family,  also,  were  not  in  the  least  appeased,  seeing 
me  persevere  in  my  resolution  in  spite  of  all  that  had  been 
attempted  to  divert  me  from  it,  and  the  severity  practised 
towards  me  went  on  increasing.  This  was  the  period  of 
severest  trial  to  my  soul.  Rarely  did  I  meet  with  one 
of  my  relations,  w’hether  at  my  uncle’s  house,  or  in 
that  of  my  parents,  without  enduring  painful  reproaches 
from  them. 

It  may  be  conceived  that  this  state  of  things  could  not 
last,  and  but  strengthened  my  ardent  desire  to  confess  my 
Saviour.  We  were  already  the  subject  of  public  conver¬ 
sation.  Very  many  of  our  habits  were  altered;  we  no 
longer  frequented  the  same  society,  and  were  very  seldom 
seen  participating  in  the  pleasures  of  our  friends.  The 
cause  w’as  at  length  suspected,  and  called  forth  expres¬ 
sions  of  grief  and  regret  on  the  part  of  our  nation.  They 
set  some  value  upon  us  ;  we  were  favorably  known,  and 
to  national  pride  was  added  the  flattery  of  the  idea  that 
I  possessed,  as  a  religious  companion,  such  a  man  as  my 


16  CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE.  (40 

i 

friend,  who,  though  young,  had  superior  talents,  and  was 
versed  in  many  sciences  ;  above  all,  was  a  poet,  whose  ef¬ 
fusions,  at  that  time  published,  had  been  received  with 
universal  applause. 

I  will  not  pass  over  in  silence  an  interesting  interview 
that  we  had  about  this  time  with  a  respectable  Rabbi,  a 
man  of  fasting  and  prayer,  emaciated  by  hard  diet,  and 
esteemed  for  piety  by  the  whole  Jewish  nation.  He  de¬ 
sired  an  interview,  and  gave  us  calmly  some  written  ob¬ 
jections.  It  was  not  difficult  to  refute  them.  Perceiving 
that  his  arguments  did  not  persuade  us,  he  attempted  an 
appeal  to  our  feelings.  ''  Gentlemen,”  said  he,  rising  up 
with  solemnity,  "in  a  few  days  all  of  our  religion,  in 
every  quarter  of  the  globe,  will  put  on  sackcloth  and 
ashes,  to  celebrate  the  great  day  of  propitiation.  Then 
every  Israelite  who  humbleth  himself  before  our  God, 
sincerely  confessing  his  sins,  is  sure  to  obtain  grace.  I 
conjure  you,  gentlemen,  to  reflect  seriously  upon  it ;  and 
if,  as  Israelites,  you  humble  yourselves  with  remorse  for 
the  design  you  have  dared  to  form,  you  will  be  pardoned 
by  our'God.”  We  were  touched,  vividly  touched  by  his 
zeal ;  but  we  reminded  him,  that,  at  any  rate,  the  blood  of 
the  Messiah  alone  could  wash  us  from  all  sin. 

As  he  was  on  the  point  of  departing,  he  added  these 
remarkable  words  :  ”  Well,  gentlemen,  I  have  acted  in 
accordance  with  the  command  of  duty  ;  now  that  we  are 
about  to  separate,  apparently  never  to  meet  again,  I  can¬ 
not  conceal  from  you  that  I  thank  God  for  permitting  me 
to  find,  even  in  our  day,  persons  who  believe  the  Bible.” 
We  then  separated,  not  without  emotion  on  both  sides. 

At  length  the  moment  of  final  decision  had  arrived  ;  I 
could  defer  no  longer.  My  friend,  whose  position  was 
very  different  from  mine,  and  who  had  met  with  hardly 
any  opposition,  his  father  dying  before  our  secret  trans¬ 
pired,  desired  to  wait  some  time  longer  ;  but  my  decision 
was  taken ;  he  joined  me,  and  I  acquainted  my  family 
with  mv  resolution. 


I 


41)  CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE.  17 

They  wished  that  I  would  postpone  it,  or  at  least  that  I 
would  go  into  Germany,  or  elsewhere.  Perhaps  I  might 
have  yielded  to  this  wish,  but  the  fear  of  any  appearance 
of  shame  in  the  step  I  was  about  to  take,  led  me  to  reject 
every  proposition  of  the  kind  ;  only  we  promised  not  to 
join  any  church  in  the  city  where  our  families  resided, 
and,  as  it  were,  in  the  face  of  our  uncle,  who  was  chief 
of  a  commission  charged  by  the  king  to  take  care  of  the 
interests  of  the  Jews  of  Holland. 

Our  choice  naturally  fell  on  the  city  of  Leyden,  which 
had  such  sweet  recollections  in  our  hearts,  and  where  that 
dear  and  excellent  professor  dwelt,  with  his  worthy  spouse, 
whose  writings  and  conversation  had  exercised  so  marked 

O 

an  influence  over  our  minds.  We  set  out  for  Leyden  in 
September — my  friend,  his  interesting  wife,  who  partook 
our  convictions  at  heart,  and  myself.  We  were  received 
with  open  arms,  and  an  affection  truly  parental,  by  these 
worthy  friends,  who  had  taken  so  much  interest  in  our 
conflicts.  Who  more  deserving  than  they  to  participate 
in  the  celestial  joy  that  flooded  our  hearts  % 

The  20th  of  October,  1822,  was  the  day  so  ardently 
longed  for,  when  we  were  solemnly  received  as  members 
of  the  Christian  church ;  there,  on  our  knees,  before  the 
God  of  our  fathers,  the  true  God,  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Spirit,  we  had  the  ineffable  happiness,  we,  unworthy, 
miserable  sinners,  to  confess,  in  the  midst  of  the  Christian 
church,  the  blessed  name  of  that  great  God  and  Saviour 
who  had  sought  us  when  lost.  Glory  be  to  his  holy  name  ! 

The  text  selected  by  the  pastor,  as  the  subject  of  his 
discourse,  was  Romans,  11  :  5.  ^'Even  so  then  at  this  pre¬ 
sent  time  also  there  is  a  remnant  according  to  the  election  of 
graced  Election  of  grace  !  This  is  the  conclusion  of  what 
you  have  just  read ;  it  is  an  abridgment  of  the  history 
of  my  conversion  ;  it  is  that  of  all  other  gratuitous  grace  ; 
grace  that  conducts,  grace  that  illumines,  grace  that  ena¬ 
bles  one  to  sufler  for  the  name  of  the  Lord,  grace  that 
consoles,  grace  that  draws  to  Christ,  grace  that  gives  faith, 


IS  CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE.  (42 

grace  that  justifies,  grace  that  regenerates,  that  sanctifies; 
finally,  grace  for  grace,  and  to  the  glory  of  God,  whose 
free  and  gratuitous  election,  made  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  is  the  only  source  and  principle  of  all  grace, 
of  all  felicity. 

The  day  previous  to  our  public  entrance  into  the  Chris¬ 
tian  church,  we  took  leave  of  the  synagogue  by  letter.  I 
addressed  to  the  mamstrates  of  the  Portuouese  Jewish 

#  O  O 

nation  a  letter,  in  which,  while  authorizing  them  to  con¬ 
sider  me  as  no  longer  a  member  of  the  synagogue,  I  pro¬ 
tested  that  I  remained  an  Israelite,  hut  an  Israelite  who 
had  found  his  Messiah,  and  who  ceased  not  to  offer  the  sin- 
cerest  wishes  that  his  brethren,  according  to  the  flesh,  might 
speedily  return  to  the  Lord  their  God,  and  to  David  their 
king. 

A  few  days  after  my  public  renunciation  of  Judaism, 

I  received  a  letter  from  my  uncle,  in  which  he  announc¬ 
ed  to  me,  that,  after  what  had  passed  and  some  new  ar¬ 
rangements  made  in  his  household,  I  could  not,  on  my 
return  to  Amsterdam,  dwell  under  his  roof ;  that  he  did 
not  forbid  my  visiting  him,  but  this  was  only  under  the 
express  condition  that  I  should  never  speak  to  him  of' 
my  sentiments.  On  my  return  to  Amsterdam  I  hired  a 
small  apartment  on  a  third  floor,  where,  alone  with  my 
God,  I  experienced  a  heavenly  joy  and  peace  that  passed 
all  understandinsf. 

O 

My  dear  brother,  with  whom  I  often  conversed  on  the 
subject  nearest  my  heart,  and  who  weighed  the  considera¬ 
tions  I  urged  with  great  seriousness,  at  length  fell  sick, 
and  died  suddenly,  crying  to  me  in  a  strong  voice,  and 
with  great  earnestness,  "  Call,  call  my  mother  ;  call  my 
sister ;  I  am  dying — but  I  helieve  in  God  the  Father,  the 
Hon,  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  my 
Saviour.  He  is  Master — King  of  kings.  All  must  come  to 
him.  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America  belong  to  him. 
He  must  reign  over  the  ivhole  earth.  Announce  in  the  syna- 
gogue  that  I  die  in  his  name." 


43) 


CONVERSION  OF  DR,  CAPADOSE, 


19 


And  now,  my  brethren  in  Christ,  it  is  to  you  I  ad¬ 
dress  myself  in  conclusion.  If  you  have  viewed  with 
Christian  joy,  how  the  Lord  has,  in  his  unspeakable  good¬ 
ness,  graciously  taken  some  little  broken  twigs  to  engraft 
them  anew  upon  the  ”  cultivated  olive,”  forget  not  that  in 
the  whole  world  there  are  many  of  these  scattered  branch¬ 
es,  now  with  neither  form  nor  comeliness,  neither  fruit  nor 
verdure,  but  possessing  still  the  sap  of  the  most  glorious 
promises. 

Forget  not,  that  if  they  are  still  "  enemies,  as  touching 
the  Gospel,  for  your  sakes,”  they  are  also  "  dearly  beloved, 
as  touching  election,  for  the  fathers’  sakes ;  for  the  gifts 
and  calling  of  God  are  without  repentance,”  Rom.  11  : 
28,  29.  Remember,  that  ”  as  ye,  in  times  past,  have  not 
believed  God,  yet  have  now  obtained  mercy  through  their 
unbelief :  even  so  have  these  also  now  not  believed,  that 
through  your  mercy  they  also  may  obtain  mercy.”  Rom. 
11 :  30,  31.  Above  all,  forget  not  the  immense  privilege 
to  which  you  are  called,  that  you  may  be,  by  your  prayers 
for  Israel,  and  your  charity  towards  them,  co-operators 
with  God,  who  desires  to  save  Israel  for  his  glory,  yes, 
for  his  glory ;  ”  for  if  the  casting  away  of  them  be  the 
reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall  the  receiving  of  them 
be,  but  life  from  the  dead  I”  Rom.  11  :  15. 

The  day  is  not  far  distant,  the  happy  day  which  the 
apostle  hails  from  afar  with  rapture  and  adoration,  when 
he  exclaims.  ''  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wis¬ 
dom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  How  unsearchable  are  his 
judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out !”  Rom.  11  :  33. 
*'  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  all  these  things  are 
come  upon  thee,  the  blessing  and  the  curse  which  I  have 
set  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  call  them  to  mind  among 
all  the  nations  whither  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  driven  thee, 
and  shalt  return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  shalt  obey 
his  voice  according  to  all  that  I  command  thee  this  day, 
thou  and  thy  children,  with  all  thy  heart  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  that  then  the  Lord  thy  God  will  turn  thy  captivity. 


I 


20  CONVERSION  OP  DR.  CAPADOSE.  (44 

and  will  have  compassion  upon  thee,  and  will  return  and 
gather  thee  from  among  all  the  nations  whither  the  Lord 
thy  God  hath  scattered  thee.  If  any  of  thine  be  driven 
out  to  the  outmost  parts  of  heaven,  from  thence  will  the 
Lord  thy  God  gather  thee,  and  from  thence  will  he  fetch 
thee.  And  the  Lord  thy  God  will  bring  thee  into  the  land 
which  thy  fathers  possessed,  and  thou  shalt  possess  it,  and 
he  will  do  thee  good  and  multiply  thee  above  thy  fathers.” 
Deut.  30  :  1-5.  Yes,  the  Lord  is  faithful.  It  is  by  an  oath 
that  he  promised  Abraham  that  his  posterity  should  one 
day  possess  Canaan  ''  from  the  river  of  Egypt  to  the  great 
river,  the  river  Euphrates Gen.  15  :  IS  ;  Exod.  23:31; 
Gen.  26  :  3  ;  Ps.  105  :  9  ;  and  that  this  possession  should 
be  "  for  ever;”  Gen'.  13  :  15  ;  ''  an  everlasting  possession  ;” 
Gen.  17  :  7,  8  ;  for  ever”  2  Chron.  20  :  7. 

Behold  the  great  promise,  that,  until  now,  has  not  been 
accomplished  !  Israel,  it  is  true,  has  possessed  the  land 
of  Canaan,  but  never  with  an  extent  of  territory,  nor  for 
a  period  of  time  proportioned  to  the  grandeur  of  the  pro¬ 
mise.  Under  the  reign  of  Solomon  alone  have  the  limits 
of  Israel’s  kingdom  extended  to  the  Euphrates;  and  this 
triumph  was  brief,  for  we  find  that  the  prophet  Isaiah,  in 
a  touching  supplication,  in  which  he  enumerates  the  bless¬ 
ings  of  the  Almighty,  and  the  numberless  deliverances  of 
which  Israel  had  already  been  the  object,  calling  to  mind 
this  promise  of  the  inheritance  of  Canaan,  exclaims,  "  Re¬ 
turn,  for  thy  servants’  sake,  the  tribes  of  thine  inheritance. 
The  people  of  thy  holiness  have  possessed  ^7  (the  country) 
iut  a  little  tvhile.”  Isaiah,  63  :  17,  18.  > 

This  promise  of  perpetual  possession  has  not  yet  been 
fully  accomplished  ;  but  it  will  be.  Yes  it  will  be  under 
the  reign  of  the  true  Solomon,  of  the  promised  Messiah, 
of  the  Lord  of  Glory,  of  the  King  of  Israel,  for  he  it  is 
who  shall  rule  ”  from  sea  to  sea,  from  the  river  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.”  Ps.  72  :  8.  Yes,  it  will  be  when  the  Al¬ 
mighty  shall  return  unto  Sion,  and  shall  dwell  in  the 
of  J<>vusalem;  when  "Jerusalem  shall  be  called  a 


45) 


CONVERSION  OF  DR,  CAPADOSE. 


21 


city  of  truth,  and  the  mountain  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  the 
holy  mountain.”  Then  the  Lord  shall  say,  ”  Behold,  I  will 
save  my  people  from  the  east  country,  and  from  the  west 
country,  and  I  will  bring  them,  and  they  shall  dwell  in  the 
midst  of  Jerusalem  :  and  they  shall  be  my  people,  and  1 
will  be  their  God  in  truth  and  in  righteousness.”  Zech. 
8  :  3,  7,  S. 

”  There  is  hope  in  thine  end,  saith  the  Lord,  that  thy 
children  shall  come  again  to  their  own  border.  Behold, 
the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  sow  the  house 
of  Israel  and  the  house  of  Judah  with  the  seed  of  man, 
and  with  the  seed  of  beast.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  like  as  I  have  watched  over  them,  to  pluck  up,  and  to 
break  down,  and  to  throw  down,  and  to  destroy,  and  to 
afflict ;  so  will  I  watch  over  them  to  build  and  to  plant, 
saith  the  Lord.  Behold,  the  days  come,  that  the  city  shall 
he  built  to  the  Lord,  from  the  tower  of  Hananeel  unto 
the  gate  of  the  corner.  And  the  measuring  line  shall  yet 
go  forth  over  against  it  upon  the  hill  Gareb,  and  shall 
compass  about  Goath.  And  the  whole  valley  of  the  dead 
bodies,  and  of  the  ashes,  and  all  the  fields  unto  the  brook 
of  Kidron,  unto  the  corner  of  the  horse-gate  towards  the 
east,  shall  be  holy  unto  the  Lord ;  it  shall  not  be  plucked 
up,  nor  thrown  down,  any  more  for  ever.”  Jer.  31  :  17, 
27,  28,  38,  39,  40. 

Ah  !  if,  by  divine  direction,  these  lines  should  fall  into 
the  hands  of  any  of  the  children  of  Abraham,  but  who 
have  not  Abraham’s  faith — of  those  Israelites,  my  dearly- 
beloved  brethren  according  to  the  flesh,  who  are  now 
poor,  but  with  the  riches  of  the  divine  word  in  their  hands  ; 
miserable,  but  having  the  blood  of  the  prophets  in  their 
veins ;  despised  and  wandering  over  the  whole  earth,  but 
with  the  promise  of  eternal  glory,  if  they  should  be  con¬ 
verted  ;  may  these  lines  remind  them  that  this  word,  these 
promises,  this  blood  of  the  prophets,  urge  them  to  ex¬ 
amine  attentively  what  these  prophets  have  spoken,  and 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


22 


(46 


by  whom  their  promises  must  have  their  accomplishment 
for  them  of  whom  this  word  is  full. 

Yes,  may  they  speedily,  by  God’s  grace,  acknowledge 
that  this  precious  Bible,  which  they  preserve,  and  upon 
which  their  faith  as  well  as  our  own  is  founded,  contains 
prophetically  the  entire  history  of  the  Messiah  :  his  origin, 
his  nature,  his  birth,  his  life,  his  death,  his  resurrection 
and  ascension  to  the  right  hand  of  God  his  heavenly  F a- 
ther ;  his  spiritual  reign ;  his  return  to  glory ;  finally  his 
reign  as  King  of  Israel,  priest  and  prc^het. 

Behold  what  I  have  been  taught  by  my  researches  in 
the  word  of  God.  May  these  lines  excite  in  them  also  the 
desire  to  seek  after  the  truth  !  They  will  see  that  the 
Messiah  promised  to  our  fathers,  must  have  been  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God,  God  eternal,  one  with  the 
Father  and  Holy  Spirit,  according  to  the  Scriptures;  for 
He  is  called  ”  God,”  and  "  the  Son  of  God,”  by  David ; 
Ps.  45  :  6 ;  Ps.  110  ;  1 ;  by  Isaiah,  ''  Wonderful,  Coun¬ 
sellor,  the  mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Father,  the  Prince 
of  Peace  ;”  Isaiah,  9:6;  by  Jeremiah,  "  The  Lord  our 
Righteousness  ;”  Jer.  23  :  6  ;  by  Malachi,  "the  Lord;” 
Mai.  3:1;  that  this  Messiah  was  to  take  our  nature  and 
be  born  of  a  virgin,  according  to  the  Scriptures  ;  for  he  is 
called  the  seed  of  the  woman,  Gen.  3  :  15 ;  "the  child 
of  a  virgin  ;”  Isaiah,  7:14;  that  this  Messiah  was  to  be  the 
descendant  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  for  He  is  called  "  the  seed  of  Abraham  ;”  Gen. 
22  :  18 ;  that  He  was  to  be  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  of 
the  house  of  David,  according  to  the  Scriptures  ;  for  He 
is  called  "  a  Rod  from  the  stem  of  Jesse  ;  Isaiah,  11:1; 

"  out  of  David  a  righteous  Branch  ;”  Jer.  23  :  5  ;  that  He 
was  to  be  born  in  "  Bethlehem,”  Mich.  5:2;  that  at  that 
time  "  the  sceptre  should  be  taken  from  Judah,”  Gen. 
49  :  10 ;  that  the  Messiah  should  have  Elias  for  his  pre¬ 
cursor,  "  preaching  in  the  wilderness  and  preparing  the 
way,”  according  to  the  Scriptures,  Isaiah,  40  :  3.  Mai.  3  :  1; 
that  the  Messiah  should  accompany  his  preaching  with 


47) 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


23 


many  miracles,  Isaiah,  35 :  5,  6 ;  that  He  should  "  enter 
Jerusalem  upon  an  ass,”  Zech.  9:9;  that  He  should  ap¬ 
pear  poor  and  humble,  ''  having  no  form  nor  comeliness, 
the  despised  and  rejected  of  men,”  Isaiah,  53:2,  3  ;  that 
one  of  his  disciples  should  ''  betray  him,”  Ps.  41:9; 
that  He  should  be  sold  for  ''  thirty  pieces  of  silver,”  Zech. 
11:  12;  that  He  should  be  "smitten  with  rods,  reviled, 
spit  upon,”  Isaiah,  50:6;  that  He  should  be  "  numbered 
with  the  transgressors,”  Isaiah,  53  :  12  ;  "  smitten,  and  af¬ 
flicted  of  God,  Isaiah,  53  :  4 ;  but  that  these  sufferings 
should  be  upon  him  "  for  our  transgi’essions,”  Isaiah,  53:5; 
that  He  should  be  "  crucified,”  Deut.  21:23;  that  they 
should  "  pierce  his  hands  and  his  feet,”  Ps.  22:16;  that 
He  should  be  "  reviled  even  on  the  cross,”  and  made  to 
drink  "  gall  and  vinegar,”  Ps.  22  :  7;  69  :  21  ;  that  they 
should  "  divide  his  garments  among  them,  and  for  his  ves¬ 
ture  cast  lots,  Ps.  22  :  18  ;  that  "  not  a  bone  of  him  should 
be  broken,”  Exod.  12  :  46 ;  34  :  20 ;  that  his  death  should  be 
violent,  Isaiah,  53  :  8  ;  Dan.  9  :  26  ;  that  He  should  "  make 
his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and  be  with  the  rich  in  his  death 
Isaiah,  53:9;  that  He  should  "  not  see  corruption,”  Ps. 
16  :  10 ;  but  that  on  "  the  third  day  ”  he  should  "rise  again,” 
Isaiah,  53  :  10  ;  Jonah,  1:17;  that  He  should  "  ascend  into 
heaven  and  sit  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  Ps. 
68:18;  and  that  thence  He  should  "  send  his  Holy  Spi¬ 
rit.”  Joel,  2  :  28. 

When  you  have  thus  united  all  these  features  of  the 
promised  Messiah,  which  the  Almighty  has  traced  so 
clearly,  so  distinctly,  to  the  very  minutest  details,  that 
Israel  should  jiot  be  deceived  by  any  false  Messiah  ;  when 
you  have  placed  before  you,  as  it  were,  face  to  face,  the 
image  of  him  upon  whom  your  salvation  rests,  open,  O 
my  dear  brethren  in  the  flesh,  open  the  New  Testament, 
praying  God  to  enable  you  to  examine  its  contents  with 
a  sincere  desire  to  know  the  truth,  and  the  glorious  light 
of  the  God  of  truth  will  lead  you  to  acknowledge,  with 
adoration,  that  all  these  characterizing  features  of  the  true 


24 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPADOSE. 


(48 


Messiah  are  to  be  found,  Avith  the  most  scrupulous  exact¬ 
ness,  in  the  person,  the  life,  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ, 
that  Saviour  blessed  for  evermore,  who  will  soon  come  in 
glory  with  his  holy  angels.  Then  Jerusalem  shall  be  to 
him  a  name  of  rejoicing,  of  praise  and  glory  among  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  who  shall  hear  the  good  that  he 
will  do  to  Israel ;  for,  "  I  will  cause  the  captivity  of  Judah, 
and  the  captivity  of  Israel,  to  return,”  saith  the  Lord, 
”  and  I  will  build  them  as  at  the  first.  And  I  will  cleanse 
them  from  all  their  iniquity,  whereby  they  have  sinned 
against  me ;  and  I  will  pardon  all  their  iniquities  whereby 
they  have  sinned,  and  whereby  they  have  transgressed 
against  me.”  Jer.  33  :  7,  8. 

''  And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and  judg¬ 
ment  was  given  them :  and  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that 
were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word 
of  God,  and  which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast,  neither 
his  image,  neither  had  received  his  mark  upon  their  fore¬ 
heads  or  in  their  hands ;  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with 
Christ  a  thousand  years.  But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived 
not  again  until  the  thousand  years  were  finished.  This  is 
the  first  resurrection.  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath 
part  in  the  first  resurrection  :  on  such  the  second  death 
hath  no  power ;  but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of 
Christ,  and  shall  reign  with  him  a  thousand  years.  Apo- 
cal.  20  :  4-6. 

''  And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say.  Come.  And  let  him 
that  heareth  say.  Come.  And  let  him  that  is  athirst  come. 
And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely.” 
Apocalypse,  22  :  17.  Amen  ! 

Note. — Rev.  Professor  Pettavel  has  annexed  to  the  French  edi¬ 
tion  a  brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  Dr.  Capadose  down  to  August, 
1837,  showing  how  he  had  been  sustained  in  trials,  especially  the 
death  of  a  beloved  and  Christian  w'ife  ;  and  the  blessing  that  had  at¬ 
tended  the  first  part,  and  his  completion  of  the  second  part  of  his 
‘ '  Jehovah  Jesus,”  or  “  Crowd  of  Witnesses  to  the  Divinity  of  Christ 
the  Saviour.” 


END. 


CONVERSION  OF  DR.  CAPAD0S:E. 


3 


suiest  measure  was  flight.  I  left  the  room  precipitately, 
and  fled  the  paternal  mansion.  My  anguish  was  calmed, 
my  faith  strengthened,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  shed  a  con¬ 
soling  balm  upon  my  wounded  heart.  Feeble  in  body, 
but  sustained  by  an  inward  power,  I  returned  ;  and,  tran¬ 
quil  and  submissive,  re-entered  the  paternal  abode.  Christ 
had  said  to  the  raging  sea,  ”  Be  still ;  and  suddenly  there 
was  a  great  calm.” 


Death  of  Mrs.  Capadose. 

Rev.  Professor  Pettavel,  after  describing  the  agony 
that  rent  the  heart  of  her  husband  during  her  last  illness, 
adds — But  the  Lord  had  decided  to  take  her  to  himself  in 
glory :  the  succor  of  art  was  useless,  and  the  worthy 
companion  of  Mr.  Capadose  yielded  up  her  spirit  with 
celestial  joy,  into  the  arms  of  her  Saviour.  This  joy  was 
preceded  by  the  acutest  sufferings.  The  evening  before 
her  death,  or  rather  of  her  entrance  into  life,  to  use  her 
husband’s  language,  she  took  leave  successively  of  her 
three  dear  children.  In  the  morning  she  sent  for  little 
Esther  and  said  to  her  ;  “  Dear  child,  pray  continually  to 
the  Lord,  that  he  may  convert  you.  Your  mother  is 
dying;  console  your  dear  father  and  take  care  of  him.” 
When  the  turn  of  Henry,  the  elder  of  her  sons,  came,  it 
was  a  trying  scene  for  the  father,  exhausted  with  watching 
and  grief.  She  raised  her  eyes  to  heaven  with  an  inimita¬ 
ble  expression.  ”  How  many  happy  days,”  exclaimed 
she,  “  I  have  passed  with  these  dear  children.  I  am  but 
too  conscious  of  this ;  I  am  still  too  much  attached  to  my 
husband,  to  my  children  ;  and  yet  the  Lord  has  said, 
"  Whosoever  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me  can¬ 
not  be  my  disciple.”  Towards  evening  she  asked  whether 
little  Isaac  was  asleep;  she  embraced  him  :  ”  May  the 
God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,”  said  she,  "  be 
your  God  !”  The  following  morning,  the  day  of  her  en¬ 
trance  into  eternal  rest,  she  perceived  a  ray  of  sunshine 
that  came  into  her  room.  ”  How  I  have  desired,”  ex¬ 
claimed  she,  ”  to  see  the  spring  in  Switzerland  !  but  I 
am  going  to  behold  an  eternal  spring.” 

The  ineffable  consolations,  says  Professor  Pettavel,  tlmt 
our  brother  Capadose  received  from  above  during  his 
hour  of  trial,  are  fully  known  only  to  God.  ”  Although  1 
feel  my  heart  torn  asunder,”  wrote  he  to  a  Christian  friend 
No.  3SS. 


CONVKnsiON  of  dr.  cap.^dose. 

in  the  first  moments  of  grief,  ''  my  soul  is  powerfully  and 
strongly  consoled  by  Him  who  is  the  resurrection  and 
the  life.” 

”  O  my  friend,”  he  writes  me  later,  ”  what  a  God  i.s 
this  we  serve  !  how  well  he  manages  the  light  and  shade 
in  the  picture  of  the  life  of  his  chosen  !  The  fair  and 
sublime  promises  that  are  made  us  appear  to  me  more 
magnificent,  more  glorious  than  ever.  To  die  and  live, 
lliis  is  the  Christian’s  diary  ;  and  if  we  had  no  conflicts  here 
we  should  not  know  what  it  is  to  triumph.  This  sinful 
body  ought  to  be  crucified  afresh  every  day,  that  the  soul 
may  one  day  be  glorified  :  if  we  have  not  seen  Geth- 
sernanes  and  Golgothas,  how  shall  we  enjoy  the  blessed 
resurrection  and  a  place  near  our  glorious  Immanuel  ! 
There  is  ever  a  cross  for  those  who  follow  the  crucified, 
as  there  will  always  be  a  crown  for  them  when  they  follow 
their  king  in  glory.” 

”  How  little  we  yet  know  of  the  holiness  of  God  !  O 
my  friend,  I  speak  for  myself,  I  can  affirm  that  the  idea 
1  have  hitherto  had  of  sin,  is,  when  compared  with  what  I 
now  see  of  the  justice  and  holiness  of  God,  as  a  drop  of 
water  in  comparison  with  the  ocean.” 


Dr.  Capadose’s  worlc  “  Jeliovali  Jesus.” 

The  Lord  (says  Dr.  C.)  who  has  powerfully  sustain¬ 
ed  me  in  my  work,  has  just  allowed  me  the  happiness  of 
publishing  the  second  part  of  my  "  Jehovah  Jesus,”  or 
”  Crowd  of  witnesses  to  the  Divinity  of  the  Saviour.”  As 
for  the  first  part  of  this  work,  our  good  Master  has  given 
me  testimony  from  every  quarter,  showing  that  the  peru¬ 
sal  of  it  has  been  blessed  even  for  Isx’ael.” 

A  friend  of  Mr.  Capadose  has  cited  the  example  of  a 

Rabbi  of  the  synagogue  of  G - ,  who,  after  perusing 

this  first  part,  avowed,  not  without  emotion,  that  it  was  the 
fir.st  time  in  his  life  he  had  read  any  thing  that  gave  him  a 
certainty  that  the  Messiah  was  God  Eternal,  and  that  he 
was  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  truth  of  what  he  had 
read. 


Orders  for  publications  and  other  communications  may  be 
addressed  to  The  American  Tract  Society,  No,  150  Nassau- 
street,  New-  York. 

No.  388. 


